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Topic: Benefits of using a grip? (Read 5902 times)

I have been considering a grip for a while, but am skeptical about it because I feel like the price to usefulness ratio might really not be worth it for me. Main reason is for handheld portraits. Especially with the 85 and 70-200, I think it would be way more comfortable to have my right hand on the side (extra joystick for choosing focus point too...). The extra battery capacity isnt really necessary for me though.

If buying it mainly for shooting vertical framed portraits, is it worth the tradeoff of extra weight? Is there any other benefit of having a grip that I don't know of? Or any other disadvantages besides price and weight... and probably needing a new tripod plate...?

The benefits to using a grip any many. I like how a grip balances the camera, especially with larger lenses. The biggest benefit for me though is the comfortable shooting position for vertical shots. My elbow isn't way up in the air like all of the amateurs out there. With a grip I can keep my elbows in using the shutter button near the bottom of the grip. This allows the use of slower shutter speeds and less camera shake. Thus a grip equals better photographs when handheld.

For an "on the other hand," the mechanical interface between the grip and the body isn't rock-solid. If you're on a tripod the grip will be tight to it, but the body and lens will have a bit of play. There is also the gear mechanism which turns the attaching screw; It is clever but made of plastic and a little vulnerable to ham-fistedness.

Those are the two real criticisms I have of them, the other posters here have covered the advantages they offer.

I stopped using them because they got in the way of my BR strap. They also add extra weight for me and I'm good shooting with a normal grip vertically.

Thats kind of what I figured might be the case... plus in addition to having to buy the actual grip, Id need another battery, another tripod plate. I didnt think about my BR strap... I don't use it too often but yeah I could image that making it harder.

The benefits to using a grip any many. I like how a grip balances the camera, especially with larger lenses. The biggest benefit for me though is the comfortable shooting position for vertical shots. My elbow isn't way up in the air like all of the amateurs out there. With a grip I can keep my elbows in using the shutter button near the bottom of the grip. This allows the use of slower shutter speeds and less camera shake. Thus a grip equals better photographs when handheld.

Yeah those were basically the reasons that are tempting me to get one. Shooting without one hasnt been a huge issue but no matter how strong you are, it seems like you will eventually get shaky holding vertical with the normal grip (I do sometimes). I hadn't really considered the "looking pro" aspect of it, but that makes sense... but I can just wheel around my boom stand with Mola dish on it if I'm in a 'need-to-look-pro' situation haha

For an "on the other hand," the mechanical interface between the grip and the body isn't rock-solid. If you're on a tripod the grip will be tight to it, but the body and lens will have a bit of play. There is also the gear mechanism which turns the attaching screw; It is clever but made of plastic and a little vulnerable to ham-fistedness.

Those are the two real criticisms I have of them, the other posters here have covered the advantages they offer.

Jim

Haha "ham-fistedness"... I havent heard that term before. I didn't know the tightener was plastic though. That's disappointing for being $300+.

I have them on both my bodies. With my large hands, I find even a large camera like the 5D2 only sits in part of my right hand - only three of my fingers comfortably fit on the grip, and a large part of my palm isn't in contact with anything. With the grip, all my hand has something to grip onto. Even though the camera weighs more with the grip, the extra stability the grip gives makes it easier to handle. With larger lenses such as the 70-200 II, it makes a world of difference.

Other advantages include vertical shooting is greatly simplified, the ability to use AA batteries should you end up on a long trip away from the mains (or if you want to pack a set of cheap duracells for backup at an event), and also a worry free way of putting the camera down on whatever surface you want, such as rocks. This means only the grip and lens hood are likely to take the brunt of your carelessness - the cheaper to replace parts of the camera/lens system.

The actual screw is steel just fine, but the spur gears which tighten it are plastic. To be specific, they're plastic in every grip I've seen so far; Canon might have shelled for something better or they may deliberately make them out of plastic for the sake of knowing where the mechanism will fail. That plastic is cheaper too is just a coincidence...

Jim

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A good image might fit entirely into the histogram, might not.

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I picked up a used (like new) one for my 7D for times when i will be taking advantage of the fps feature or shooting a lot of portrait. It makes the camera bigger and heavier (duh) and I very rarely use it.

I used grips on all my bodies. At the end of a day of shooting with a heavy lens, my hand would be sore without the grip, fine if I used it. I ended up just leaving then on all the time. The ability to hold the camera with all four fingers, plus the better balance, Me_Me_Me the increase in weight.

Jim is correct about the flex when on a tripod - that's one reason I love the integrated grip of the 1-series bodies.

FYI, you don't need to put two batteries in the grip - one works just fine, and other than battery life there's no difference in camera performance (no idea what 'fps feature' brad-man is alluding to, an increased frame rate with grip on a dSLR is a Nikon thing, and bogus limitation at that since there's a settings 'hack' to get the higher frame rate without a grip).

I used to use grips on my consumer bodies, but the flexing of the grip while mounted to a tripod meant I had to remove it to use even a medium telephoto lens.

If you do a lot of hand held portrait orientation photography, a 1 series body is much preferred, but a grip definitely helps.

You can extend the battery life by putting two batteries in your grip, and also have a way to use AA size batteries in a emergency. You do not have to put two batteries in a grip, but it makes good sense to do it.

How? Never caused an issue for me, not an issue now (and of course, I can't remove the grip anyway).

The BR nub thing would rest in the middle of my hand when I held the camera. It's even worse if you have the tripod plate + BR nub thing attached together. It was really annoying enough I stopped using grips on my 7D and 5Dc. No more grips for me.

FYI, you don't need to put two batteries in the grip - one works just fine, and other than battery life there's no difference in camera performance (no idea what 'fps feature' brad-man is alluding to, an increased frame rate with grip on a dSLR is a Nikon thing, and bogus limitation at that since there's a settings 'hack' to get the higher frame rate without a grip).

I wasn't referring to frame rate. I meant if I was at an event requiring frequent and sustained bursts, I wouldn't need to worry about swapping batteries at an inconvenient time. I suppose it's a personal thing. For me it's mostly about the added bulk more than the weight. Unfortunately, I don't own heavy enough glass to need the grip as a counterweight.

For an "on the other hand," the mechanical interface between the grip and the body isn't rock-solid. If you're on a tripod the grip will be tight to it, but the body and lens will have a bit of play. There is also the gear mechanism which turns the attaching screw; It is clever but made of plastic and a little vulnerable to ham-fistedness.

Those are the two real criticisms I have of them, the other posters here have covered the advantages they offer.

Jim

I would definitely agree with this on my 60D and grip. Sometimes when using it in the vertical position you can feel it move a little.

One thing no one has mentioned is the use of the AA pack that comes with the grip. I was just on a trip and accidentally left the camera on (Auto power off wasn't on because sometimes I do time-lapses with magic lantern) and both my Lp-e6's were drained. Luckily I brought the AA pack which lasted almost 600 shots (including quite a few long exposures).

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Using the back button focus technique I like to have the grip on my 5D3.And the frame of the 1D4, where it is part of the body.Having large hands my ring and little finger would hang loose without.It simply feels more balanced with it.I can understand, if somebody doesnt like it for the extra weight.